Love or Money
by BeMerryEatCake
Summary: The least Amu Hinamori had been expecting after being invited to a concert was running into the famous violinist Ikuto Tsukiyomi. "Want to be my wife?" She got a heck of a lot more than she bargained for. Being revised, on hiatus.
1. A Stranger's Proposal

"_You understand that he is very sick, right Amu?"_

"_Yes."_

"_We may not have money for some things."_

"_I know."_

"_The…treatments might not be enough…"_

"…"

"_I want you to try your best and not to cause any trouble."_

"_I will. I promise…." _

* * *

It was much bigger and grander than she originally thought it would be. Amu fidgeted in her jeans and plush turtleneck sweater top, tempted to sprint out of the large auditorium and far, far away.

The air reeked with perfume and cologne that was much too pungent for her tastes. It wasn't just the showing room, the whole dang place looked as if it were a castle! Gold rimmed banisters ran all along the many passageways, and lush crimson and lilac curtains hung from large balcony's up way above her. Far too many people were dressed as if they were going to some ball party for Halloween. Elegance rang throughout this large concert hall like it was something to be expected. The chairs weren't even crappy like at a movie theatre. They were quite comfortable, but didn't cease to put Amu on edge and sit straight up like she had a terrible pain in her mid-section. She felt misplaced, lost in the crowd of upper class.

She'd messed around with her hair for a good hour before just going with the 'semi casual look' and throwing on a nice sweater to shed off attention from her very worn and faded pair of jeans. She'd forgotten to do the laundry the other day and been reminded about the tickets by Yaya showing up at her front door to pick her up for the concert. She'd thought Yaya was joking about them. The little bouncing ball of hyper was aghast to see her friend not ready and ushered her to dress quickly before they missed a single minute of the sold out show.

Amu didn't say no thanks like she wanted for one sole reason.

The rosette haired girl's honey eyes trailed to a fat diamond ring gleaming from the lights overhead. A woman around her thirties was sporting it like it was some plastic spider band not worth anything. Her neck adorned many other shiny jewels that Amu couldn't begin to comprehend their value.

Everywhere she looked it screamed money, money, and more _money_.

The carpet was expensive, the seats were expensive, the toilet paper was probably expensive too. For god's sakes the flipping pamphlet looked like it was worth more than her used car! This sort of extravagant atmosphere made her feel so distant and strange, as if she didn't belong. She'd begged and pleaded for Yaya to take the tickets back and refund them after seeing what sort of 'concert' it really was. But she ignored Amu's cries as she presented the tickets proudly to the collector and claimed their seats. Amu didn't deserve this.

It was too much.

"Yaya," Amu prodded for the girl's attention beside her. "Please tell me what you paid. I'll give you my half back, this is just _too much _for a surprise present -"

The auburn headed girl waved her off and eyed a young man in a tux. "I told you not to worry about it, didn't I? Come on! Loosen up, and check out that guy with the red tie."

Amu covered her face with her hands and groaned. "They're all wearing red ties!"

"Pshaw. Who cares? He's cute."

"They probably all have sets," Amu replied in dismay. "Made out of silk!"

Yaya balanced an elbow on her knee and leaned her chin into her palm. "Silk smilk, what's the difference? It's not like we stole these seats." She noticed Amu's horrified expression and gave her a quizzical look.

"If you say that, they'll suspect something -"

A high brow was lifted in Amu's direction at this. "Suspect what? I didn't do anything. I mean, hello, there was some candy sitting out on an end table coming in here, but did I take it? No, I knew you would get embarrassed in front of these rich, but complete, strangers. Hear that? _Strangers_. People you don't know."

Amu's face paled. "You were going to eat food that was opened in public? That's -"

Yaya covered her ears and gritted her teeth tightly. "Blah, blah, blah! I'm not listening to you anymore!"

A few glossy heads turned at Yaya's high and loud bellowing tone. The pinkette tried to sink further down in her seat as to avoid penetrating stares that would soon turn mocking and haughty. She had put up with it and tried to ignore the young women a few years her senior giving them withering glances and sticking up their noses at them as they walked past to their seats. But…

Amu forced air through her lips as her lungs grew excruciatingly rigid and stiff.

It was getting to be overwhelming.

Pretty soon, Yaya snapped out of her aggravation and began to chatter excitedly about the pieces and talent of the musicians playing. Foreign names flew out of her friend's mouth and after awhile Amu gave up trying to follow it all. Her mind wandered to her little sister who had asked, or more like begged Amu to pick her up from school. Or at least today since it was Friday and Amu didn't have work. Her fingers came up to rest against her lips in thought as she wondered how long exactly the showing would be.

Right then, the thunderous roar of people came to a quiet chatter and then to an abrupt stop. Amu snapped out of her reverie and bolted up from her slouch as the lights waned slowly to darkness. Only the stage luminosity glowed in the pitch black all around, casting the platform with everyone's attention. Amu hadn't noticed the musician take his/her place during all the activity around her. But now, she watched in silence as they straightened their arms and placed their fingers above the keys. Or well, that's what she supposed. She couldn't tell exactly from such a extensive distance.

And then…they began to play.

* * *

It was obvious Yaya didn't have the attention span for a classical based concert. After an hour of the notes sliding in and around them and about seven rounds of applause to various musicians, the nineteen year old was growing restless. Her chair was apparently very old as it would give out an irritating muted squeak every time she adjusted her sitting position. And Amu sensed that people were beginning to notice and growing quickly irritated. She had told Yaya to sit still finally after the last song had ended and the clapping rang out high and deafening. The younger girl had stuck her tongue out childishly at Amu's implied chiding.

And that was when Amu realized Yaya must have heard all the musical facts from Kairi. The concerts had evidently intrigued her enough to buy tickets. But to spend that much money when it was only a passing interest? Amu clasped her hands as she waited for the next musician to enter. There must be more to it than that, no one spent this much for something so small as curiosity.

Or maybe that was just her.

Yaya knew Amu liked classical pieces like this, but she wouldn't accompany her too unless there was something, at least one thing, that would peak her fascination. Amu bit her bottom lip lightly as the thoughts piled high and endlessly. She could ask, she supposed. But would that offend her?

It would be as if she were asking:

_Why the heck did you buy tickets and invite me when you don't even like it?_

No. She couldn't say something like that. Not after Yaya had spent so much money. The amount didn't have a number as Yaya refused to leak the information knowing Amu would freak out. And this led to anxiety and heart thumping worry at how much it was. She could pay some of it back at least, or maybe buy her friend something nice…

_Lame. _Amu thought. _Like that will make up for this. _

This…made her happy. Amu loved the raw sound and power that came leaping off of the strings and keys as if from another world. To hear it up close, taste the work and effort of musicians that spent practically their whole lives perfecting the skill, it was simply amazing to her. Amu watched absently, tapping her fingers against the arm rest as another pianist entered onto the stage. She wrinkled her nose. Amu preferred the string instruments to the grand piano.

Yaya suddenly straightened, looking at the pamphlet intently.

"Finally," she whispered in exasperation.

Amu glanced at her friend, curiosity gnawing its way into her mind. Evidently this was the person she had been waiting for the entire time.

Amu looked back at the stage bathed in light from all sides. Yaya wasn't this excited for the pianist before…her eyes scrolled the little booklet three pages long in her hand until finally stopping on the last section printed in bold black cursive.

Sonata piece guest performance

Grand Piano: Yuki Kimura

Violin: Ikuto Tsukiyomi

_A sonata? _She wondered. _Which one's the guest?_

The little amount of time she had spent looking at the info brochure was enough for the other musician to show himself from behind the tapestries. His walk was straight, forward and direct in a way that showed his confidence to all who were watching. Excited whispering broke like a tremendous wave across the space at the man's entrance. Amu sat completely sill in all this reaction, confused.

The silence was ultimately more deafening than the noise as the violinist placed his instrument below his chin and readied his bow. The sound was slow, so quiet that at first Amu hadn't noticed the piano was actually making noise until it began to rise higher and higher. It was a steady faint rhythm that continued on and on peacefully uninterrupted by any other outside sound. The music, although an addictive melody, seemed familiar to Amu but incomplete. She couldn't place the notes with any piece she listened to in her car or at home laying on her bed in silence to relax.

The next moment hit with a chilling punch to the gut.

High pitched wailing entered the large stretch of space and beat out the piano's notes like it was some insignificant bug. There was no contending, no battling between the two instruments. The violin sliced through the piano's keys but managed to blend while remaining totally dominant. It followed the same exact pattern but stung Amu's skin with every strum, back and forth. She stayed frozen like that, stuck in a trance with the powerful notes from a player who was far beyond in mastery of the pianist.

But the memories and pictures that snaked and cut into Amu's head were too much to bear. She bolted upward out of her seat, ignoring Yaya's concerned glance and anyone near by that shot her irritated glares. The violin raced along with her steps as she hurried down the stairs to the first floor and towards a large firmly shut door. If she wasn't so panicked, she would have noticed it wasn't the same one they came in from.

But Amu continued on, shoving her way through, desperate to slice the violin's stings that seemed to be attached to her back.

In just three seconds it was gone. The single slab of wood slammed closed with her rushed force.

But no one jumped or turned at the noise, Amu was alone in the hallway. She collapsed in a crouch against the wall, putting a hand to her rapid pounding heart.

Pound

_That face torn in pain_

Pound

_Those eyes wide in fear_

Pound

_The image of his body still on the floor_

Pound

Amu's eyes slid quickly shut as she tried to steady the gasps that ripped from her lips. She turned her face downwards towards the floor, blinking back her bleary tear filled vision forcefully. This was no time to cry, she knew that. But it was coming so easy, so fast. It felt like forever before her heart ceased it's hard thumping against her ribs and started to come to a firm, slow pace. Amu leaned her head back against the wall, but didn't remove her hand.

It may have been ten or fifteen minutes she was like that, just staring above at the ceiling. The vibrant reds and purples smoothed into a blend soon enough as she forgot to blink. Amu looked away as a sigh breezed easily from her mouth and into the silent hallway that was empty of anyone near.

That's when the door opened again.

Honestly, she was expecting a worried Yaya.

Not a man she didn't know.

She saw his black leather shoes first. He was wearing a dark suit, fitted, and a plain black tie to match. Her eyes slowly traveled upward and onto his face that was utterly devoid of anything. But it wasn't his unfriendly expression that made her look away from intimidation.

It was his eyes. Those cool, murky azure pools that met hers without a trace of hesitance. The air around him seeped danger and intrigue that many women probably found irresistible. Amu blushed a fine scarlet as he continued to stare at her, frozen to the spot. He had a cigarette poised between his fingertips ready to be lit. But he probably spotted her crouched just outside and stopped in surprise. The other hand was still in his pocket, lighter hidden away. His midnight hair shifted slightly as he cocked his head down at her.

But he didn't say a word.

The man pushed a case that he had set down without her knowing earlier with the heel of his shoe out of the door's way. It was like a line between them, something that was unfathomably mysterious and tempting to cross. Amu stared at it for awhile before realization struck.

The violinist!

He leaned against the wall right next to her, towering above like a giant.

Her fingers tightened instinctively around her forearms as she felt the overwhelming sensation that something big was going to happen if she didn't get out of there soon. But she couldn't move. Her legs felt weak, her heart heavy, her eyes sore and achy from willing back tears.

If she knew what he was going to say next, Amu would have forced herself up and away without a missed beat.

"Want to be my wife?"

It was a mumble.

A mumble she heard very clearly.

* * *

**Okay, I'm going to say this straightaway. I DON'T KNOW WHERE THIS CAME FROM! **

**All of a sudden my fingers were possessed and started writing this random plot. I'd say it's a bit on the cliché side, hope that doesn't bother anyone. I really have no idea where this is all going, so I probably won't continue it if no one cares for the story. I mean, normally I write like around five or four chapters in advanced due to all the inspiration. But this…nope, nada. A sonata as much as I know is a piece (or movement along with a whole performance) done with two instruments or a piano accompanied with another instrument, or rather just a piano. Uh...I tried researching up on that, all that stuff kind of confuses me. If there is some music expert reading this, did I get that right? Sort of? **

**Ikuto said that bit at the end for a certain reason, not because he's some weirdo who asks young women to marry him randomly. I haven't been to a concert hall thing since fifth grade, (for some field trip) and from what I do remember it was so dang fancy and expensive looking. We were lectured and lectured and lectured not to touch anything and to behave. That didn't happen. My picture of the place might be different from yours, but I'm praying that it came out okay. Alrighty, if you like it that will make my day! :D If no one does, well I suppose I'll just delete it and forget about the entire thing. **

**I also have a bad habit of not including the chara's! I've gotta stop doing that…**


	2. Let's Make a Deal?

**It's my birthday, so I just got me some video games...that means I'll probably be distracted for quite a while and not update soon like I'm supposed to do on summer vacation...forgive me! DX **

* * *

"_Don't come back home, because from today on you're not part of it." _

"_You will never be again."_

* * *

A pin could have fallen from the roof, no matter how illogical that seemed, it could have dropped out of thin air against the marble flooring and echoed in the silence that draped the space around both of the young adults. Amu didn't say a single word, she only turned her head slightly to the side and craned her neck upwards to stare at the stranger that had just asked, in the most laid back of ways, to be his wife. Her eyes, her face, every part of her body betrayed her normally calm and collected fake persona. She was being too open, too shocked with a complete stranger. And that unnerved her in various dangerous degrees.

But how the hell else was she _supposed_ to react?

It apparently wasn't just Amu that was taken of guard by the statement. Even though the words had escaped the man's own lungs, his expression was frozen as if he had just registered what had come out. He shut his eyes, almost pained it seemed to her, and pulled the cigarette from his lips. As he appeared on the verge to be strutting his way off and away to god knows where, Amu stood, unabashed in her much too casual attire, incredulous of his inquiry.

"Excuse me?"

The man turned a bit in her direction, like he had almost forgotten the girl entirely. Which really didn't make sense, considering he had questioned her less than a minute ago. He waved her off with a hand and a practically inaudible sigh. "Forget it…"

She might have just done that if it hadn't been such an odd question from, again, a complete and total stranger. It was always her being the one to wave people off, or reply like she didn't really care at all. But the roles were rapidly being reversed as she sputtered incoherently, mind becoming a shamble of bits and pieces in her confusion.

"What do you mean 'forget it'?" Amu asked, eyes wide. "You just asked for my hand in marriage!"

His own eyes ignited into something she could only describe as amusement. "Did I?"

"YES!" At her yell inside the quiet concert hall, Amu blushed and her fingers fluttered frantically to her mouth as the man's lips twitched so slightly, tempted to go into a smirk.

"I was thinking aloud." The humor faded as he bent to pick up the case at his feet. "Don't bother yourself…"

Amu looked at him, expression still widely exposed in bewilderment. "That still doesn't make any sense."

He stopped mid-step, but didn't turn.

"Neither do you."

Amu blinked once, twice, then tilted her head to the side at his quiet statement. "What?"

"You," he repeated dully. "It's obvious you were crying."

Unconsciously, her right hand came to her cheek just below her eye. Her feet seemed anchored to that spot as she couldn't bring herself to step closer to this man who was so confusing, intimidating and obviously dangerous in a way she naturally felt she shouldn't get involved with. Why was it that she was still talking to him? Her golden gaze had fallen to the floor, and she suddenly felt the penetrating focus of something heavy on her. Amu looked back up and met the bold sights of his eyes. The man was turned around again, something expectant in his stare focused solely in her direction. She couldn't bring herself to look away for what felt like a lot more than a few seconds.

She tore her own eyes from his with difficulty and brushed back some rosette strands behind her ear. Amu tried for the indifferent approach this time, hoping to get that damn amused look out of his face! "No, I wasn't…I just got something in my eye -"

This time, the smirk from him was immediate. _Oldest lie in the book_. "You're a bad liar."

Amu's mouth set into a frown as she grew frustrated with her failed attempt. "Stop changing the subject!"

"Wasn't trying." He replied evenly to her heated tone.

Amu huffed, taken over with the temptation to shake him back and forth by his hair to make that collected aura of his shatter for at least one second. But if she happened to ever get the guts to do that, he might call the police, file a restraining order and she would never find out why in fact he had asked her such a random question. Well…maybe that scenario was a bit over the top…

"Now," she was determined for an answer that both made her wary and intrigued at the same time, "why did you ask me to marry you?" A roar of applause echoed faintly from the doorway, catching at the end of her words and stalling the time that was expected when he would answer. It went on and on, louder and steadily louder it seemed. He didn't appear bothered as much as she was. The man only looked lazily to the side, at nothing really, and tapped a finger soundly against his case once.

That little tap caused her heart to stutter.

But his eyes burrowing into her own again made her breathing hitch and become robbed from her lungs. He stared and stared at her, so silent and serious she just about squirmed under his sights. But in the cool aired hallway, empty of anyone else except them, she stayed put. Her mother's warnings of strange men didn't work at all on her feet or her hand that was resting beside the pocket with her cell phone.

"The real question is…" he muttered so low, she almost didn't hear. "How far are you willing to go for money?"

Amu actually flinched with these words. Her collective shock was overwhelming to the extreme as goose bumps rose and climbed up her arms. The many things she wanted to immediately yell and scream into his face were also a far cry from 'polite'.

_Oh my god_! she thought, taking a step back. _He's a pervert!_

Her lips opened and closed for a moment or two as she tried to recollect herself. Amu then shook her head furiously, a shrill squeak escaping her lips. "You can't mean selling myself!"

The man stopped short of bringing the cigarette back to his lips, his attention swiftly brought back onto the stunned Amu.

"I don't know how you got that inside your head, sir, but I am NOT that kind of girl!"

He was obviously thoroughly bemused with this statement. It was a foreign light that came bursting from the deepest ends of his eyes that stirred something in Amu she had never felt before. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat that had snuck up on her, but still couldn't bring her feet to run as fast as she could to the exit.

The man gave her a sidelong glance after checking his watch. "Do you know who I am?"

"No!" she answered abruptly, rudely she supposed. But he was suspicious and just…weird! "And I really don't want anything to do with who you are!"

"That's not what I meant," he stated simply with a new, slight curiosity catching in his gaze.

She blinked multiple times, struggling with the right words. "Well you better get to your point quick before I call security on you!"

"You're very loud," he mumbled.

_And you're random! _But she didn't say that, she only continued to look at him like he was crazy.

The man got a new grip on his case's handle before speaking again. "Why would I ruin my reputation for a complete stranger?"

"I - I don't know!" she said, exasperated. "You tell me!"

He looked as if he were grappling between leaving then and there or explaining himself. Like it was some kind of chore, the man picked the first. "I am Ikuto Tsukiyomi, one of the youngest and renowned violinists in the country. My salary is well beyond what you would expect for a musician. In other words…I'm rich."

At her blank look, Ikuto prodded further.

"Do you understand at all what I'm getting at?"

She shook her head slowly. "Not…really…"

His silence this time spelled out his frustration clearly with her. She guessed he wasn't the type to take the time to explain things, perhaps even lazy.

Surprisingly, she found herself apologizing. "Sorry…this isn't making any sense…" She grew straight away frustrated, wondering why the heck she would offer any kind of apology to a man that was turning out to be a total whacko!

"…that's my point."

It was sudden, entirely out of thin air. Amu startled from her own thoughts.

"Huh?"

She could almost feel Ikuto's amusement of her still blatant obliviousness. "Why would I pay a stranger, for example, you, to have sex - here of all places - when my reputation is on the line?"

A surprised note fell from her mouth without her consent. And just as she would if she were still sixteen, Amu blushed fiercely. Mostly from embarrassment. "Well…now that you're being so straightforward about it…"

"It's a deal for money," Ikuto said clearly, angling away to disappear as easily as he had come. "Take it or leave it."

"Wait!" Amu reached out a hand, as if to stop him physically. Her fingers curled inward as he merely halted at her command. She fidgeted, uncertain. "You…you've got to be kidding. You're offering money to some woman you don't even know to marry you? That's just - completely - INSANE!"

He shrugged, grappling for a lighter inside his left pocket. "My thoughts slipped out, it was an idea, an accident…" His face flitted so dimly to displeasure at his failure to find it, Amu barely took notice. He moved to depart the scene yet again, and Amu's mind sped through a multitude of things in just a brief amount of seconds. Her sanity being one. But everyone always has the need for such a greedy thing, every single person. Someone just so effortlessly handing it to her on a silver platter, the chance, finally a chance - she just couldn't let it go.

Why couldn't she_ 'just let it go'_?

"…how…" Her voice was so quiet during that moment he froze in his steps. It was a wonder he even heard her. Amu had no idea of his expression, and assumed that it was most likely one of amusement yet again but in reality…wasn't. His face was just the exact opposite in fact. Though, she had no clue of this and continued, her face exactly as crimson as a minute earlier. "…how much -"

Loud, obnoxiously loud stomps boomed off the walls and through the space between Amu and Ikuto. Amu stepped further away from him on reflex, craning her neck back to see who was making such a inappropriate entrance. "AMMMUUUU~" A familiar light sing-song voice rang high and deafening in the normally peaceful setting of the hallway. Yaya emerged from the corner, both arms occupied with her bag and Amu's own. Her light orange sundress was wrinkled and bunched, while the jean jacket sleeves were pulled up to her elbows.

Yaya's eyes roamed the dead end passage that led to a door with a bold lighted 'exit' sign. Amu wasn't sure if that was where the violinist was headed to or back inside the stage area, she didn't get much of a chance to ponder as her friend's sights snagged on her form and nothing else.

"OH! There you are!" She announced, seeming rather proud of herself. Yaya bounded over, ignorant of Ikuto's presence all together as she made it to Amu's side in record time. It was a mystery how the sugar-addicted girl could do such a thing. "I've been looking all over for you -"

And that's exactly when she woke up to the man right in front of them. Yaya's eyes shot wide, and her lips opened into a stupefied 'o'. "Whoa."

Ikuto remained bored faced, but Amu could practically perceive his prickling questions, answers and temptation to leave and never offer up his money again. Panic dug its way into her throat at the thought of him and his proposal vanishing, her every sense now on high alert. Amu mind took a sudden jagged turn into overdrive as the previous thought registered. What was she _panicking_ for? She couldn't get - get married! It was ridiculous, something girls who were desperate to escape away from home did at her age.

Amu was still denying with herself and refusing to believe she had almost given in to something so stupid and impulsive when Yaya yanked her arm practically out its socket, pulling her over to the side to evidently get out of Ikuto's earshot.

Her friend's face was ecstatic and almost appeared about to shatter with the huge disbelieving grin breaking on her lips. "Oh my gosh!" Yaya squealed, giving a little hop to her step. Amu winced at the decibel level and rubbed at her poor assaulted arm with a small frown. "Here I thought you were off alone crying by yourself, you actually hooked up with the musician!"

Amu's face turned puzzled at the idea. "I didn't…'hook up' -"

Yaya slapped both hands over her ears just as before when she refused to hear anymore of Amu's self-conscious thoughts spoken aloud. "Say no more!" She rose her eyebrows in a knowing way, which really wasn't knowing, but Yaya assumed she knew anyway, and began to back away with Amu's bag still in her custody. "I'll just leave you two lovebirds alone~" Yaya put a finger to her chin, oblivious of Amu's horror as she began to take her leave. "I wonder what kind of candy they give out as refreshments? It is the end of the show so…would they?"

"What?" Amu shrieked. She meshed her lips tightly together, looking back at Ikuto. He raised a lone brow in her direction, unsuccessfully trying to get his newly located lighter to work. Amu didn't dare move, an invisible force working on her legs, locking her to that spot.

Yaya looked at her astounded friend as if she had grown wings and said she could fly. "I…I said 'I wonder if they have candy -"

Amu waved the comment off. "Not that!" She put a hand to her head, thoughts jumbling and colliding into each other with every vexing second that passed. She gave a huge burst of air from her lungs and let her hand fall limp to her side. "You're not actually leaving me alone here, with - with -"

"Me?" Ikuto ventured half-heartedly.

Amu shot him a look and lowered her voice a bit more. She stepped closer to Yaya, a prickling sense of worry igniting in her gut about him and his offer disappearing if she went any further. "H-him?" It was a hot, unsteady whisper that erupted from her mouth. Stuttering. Something she was not used to doing.

"Oh, don't be so shy! You're never going to meet a guy like that!" Yaya brushed off 'stranger danger' like it was nothing at all. She leaned inwards a bit towards Amu, cupping a hand around her mouth. "He's the famous violinist one, you know? The one in the show! You work all the time, and never meet anyone. Plus he's cute, you deserve a date." Waggling her fingers as she walked backwards, Yaya continued farther and farther, easy as that, until she was entirely gone from sight. And Amu continued to stand there, dumbstruck into silence. Her voice was robbed from her throat and she couldn't help the dazed expression that inched its way onto her face. Amu's feet were still anchored to the carpet and she couldn't figure out for the life of her why she wasn't running after her friend and away from this man that was driving her up a wall!

Amu twitched at a sudden sharp sound behind her.

Click.

Click.

Click.

"Damn it," was Ikuto's frustrated mutter and the only noise left after Yaya's own high heeled clacks had faded completely. Amu slowly turned around, head titled ever so slightly to the side in the violinist's direction. She crossed both arms against her chest, wondering once again of her sanity and how exactly intact her mind was today. She'd been dragged to a classical concert, reduced to pathetic tears then proposed to all in three hours. Was this a dream?

She didn't ask that or give into her temptation to pinch the man who was distracted by a cheap plastic green box. No, Amu instead noticed the nice shiny looking watch on Ikuto's wrist. She adjusted her weight to her left leg, unsure and feeling vaguely misplaced. It wasn't often she ended up completely alone with a much older male. "Um…could you tell me the time?"

Ikuto glanced at her for a second, almost curious as to why she was still there. But then he looked back at his watch, answering in that dull tone of his. "Almost three…" His 'why' was silent but still hung in the air after he spoke. Amu caught it and understood his reason to question her, but didn't give a direct answer right away.

In the place of a reply she asked something of him once again.

A question that he wasn't expecting, and one that took all her guts to say.

"Do you have car?"

* * *

It took awhile longer than Amu preferred to get out of the building and off down the road. Ikuto had to spend another half-hour discussing particular things with other wealthy looking men and such, stuff she didn't really understand, and stall their journey to his car. This didn't fit well into the schedule. Not at all.

The young woman kept looking back at the car's digital clock showcasing the ticking time as minutes kept jumping out at her and taking her off guard and skyrocketing her patience to the moon. Amu wrung her hands non-stop, thinking only of her younger sister sitting outside the school waiting for her, only Amu to pick her up and take her home. The seatbelt itched against her bare neck and Amu pulled at it absently, her skin becoming redder every time she chose to do this nervous action. She let it fall back down again, not taking notice of the distance she had yanked it back to. It thwacked against her neck so hard it had the driver of the vehicle's attention instantly.

"Ow." Amu said under her breath while Ikuto smiled faintly to himself. It was another couple turns before they came to a stop-light and Ikuto decided to put in his two cents worth of Amu's endless cycle of 'stare at the clock then the window then the clock again'.

"You know," he started off, leaning an arm on the wheel lazily. "It's not going to stop."

Amu gazed at it for another few seconds before turning her head towards him, eyes unfocused. "Huh?" she questioned stupidly, much as her reaction had been to his very new looking car. She'd almost hadn't wanted to touch the handle to open the door, afraid it would break under her fingers and she'd have to pay a scary amount to get it fixed.

"The time," he said, watching the red light above the lane closely, unchanged even after a solid minute. She then began to come back to reality as the strangeness of her situation snuck on up on her again. Amu bit her lower lip, casting Ikuto the quickest of looks out of the corner of her eye. Her fingers curled into tight fists as she tried to keep herself from fidgeting constantly. She should feel unsafe, uncomfortable of the guy sitting next to her. She doesn't know him. He doesn't know her. They're strangers! But weirdly enough…she didn't. Amu was in reality extremely unnerved by the suggestion that getting married for money was looking more appealing as she thought about it more and more.

And that fact terrified her.

The girl gave a tentative nervous smile as he caught her staring at him.

He sighed, pushing gently on the gas pedal. "You don't have to do it." The blaring of a horn from another car drowned out her note of surprise completely. "Actually, I encourage you to forget about this exchange entirely."

Like he was talking about white fluffy clouds up in the sky or the weather, Ikuto stated and laid it out between them so simply, so easily. Not that the weather held pleasant clouds. The normally nice expanse of blue had steadily become that of a nasty blend of grey and sooty black. Amu brought up a hand, letting her five fingers feather the smooth glass surface of the window. It was freezing cold to the touch.

"I can't," she said, hushed. Her voice wavered and she knew he couldn't have heard it, so Amu repeated it again, knowing deep in her gut that she'd never let this opportunity go; no matter how foolish the life-changing decision was she would not accept the money to slip through her fingers. Not with her family in mind. "Ikuto, I _can't _forget."

She saw the jolt of his fingers on the wheel as he failed to verbally respond to her declaration. But he had caught the words as effortlessly as breathing air she knew, because her voice had been too clear, too loud and there was no music to drown it out. But he didn't say anything to her for a large sum of the ride, having no trouble in going down roads familiar to Amu as the back of her hand. She hunted down street names in her head, checking them off on a mental list as Ikuto turned and passed various amounts of them. Soon enough, unbelievably, he came right in sight of Seiyo Junior High. The vehicle cruised just an inch or so from the sidewalk, sidling along until it gradually stopped on its own.

Ikuto looked at Amu, asking silently for confirmation. She wondered briefly how in the world he could have known exactly where to go. Amu let the puzzling thought free after a moment, realizing that it didn't really matter in the long run. He had gotten her to the right place.

She nodded to him, then unbuckled her seatbelt, knowing full well Ami would never recognize this car as her ride home. The air was a frosty bite to the bridge of her nose the instant she stepped outside of Ikuto's car. Amu quickly shut the door and wrapped her arms against her chest, trying to protect her fingers from the cold wind sweeping northeast. A lone drop of rain hit her cheek and had Amu looking upwards at the gloomy mass of darkening clouds in worry. She scurried atop the sidewalk, scanning every which way to catch a glimpse of her sister. The building was the same as it had been for Amu when she was thirteen years old, except for greener grass. But she had a hunch that it was very much fake now.

Amu stopped abruptly, just a few yards from the school entrance. She stared quizzically at the sight of her sister surrounded by two other girls. They looked a few years older than Ami, most likely in their last year of the school. Their white cotton blouses and pleated skirts looked somewhat…_adjusted _in length and style, opposite of Ami's school acceptable uniform. Odd…

Amu couldn't see her sister's expression and figured they must be friends. Though, she couldn't recall Ami talking about any of her friend's at home before. And these girls appeared to be rebels more than the grade grubber, follow-the-rules kind of students.

Amu walked closer, and her sharp steps echoed off the walls easily. The two girls' glossy heads shot up at her approach and they began to back off, one of them suddenly shoving Ami's books out of her arms as she gave a hasty retreat. Her stuff flew to the ground in a tumble of papers, folders and notebooks.

"Hey!" Amu shouted at them, no longer assuming they were friendly acquaintances. She rushed to her sister's side, kneeling down to help her pick up her things. It was no use to chase after the girls because they were gone in a matter of seconds around the red-bricked walls. Amu looked at her sister's down-turned head with concern, reaching for one her books.

"Ami, what was that about? Are you -"

She pushed Amu's hand harshly away and bit out a quick reply. "I'm fine!" She sniffed, and wiped roughly at her eyes. In just moments, she had gathered all her fallen articles into her arms and stood back up. Amu froze briefly as she caught sight of an escaping tear her sister failed to catch.

Amu came upwards slowly, expression softening even further. "Why didn't you tell me about this -"

Ami glared at her elder sister and cut her off. "You were supposed to be here at three o'clock."

The words stung like a slap, and as they sunk in, guilt began to swarm her entire body. Amu opened her lips soundlessly, trying to think of something that wouldn't sound like a pathetic excuse. Ami turned sharply away, a hardened frown on her lips as she stalked off to find the piece of junk that was Amu's car.

Amu ran after her, knowing that she would never think to come near the expensive looking silver vehicle humming on the curb. And just as she predicted, Ami had come to an immediate standstill moments later, confused as to where Amu had come from to the school.

"You didn't walk…" the thirteen year old said slowly, disbelief crawling across her features. "Did you?"

Amu smiled gently at her now-turned-around sister, gesturing to the only car left alone by the curb. "No, I was driven…by my…f -"

"Fiancé," a cool voice nestled easily at the end of Amu's unfinished statement. He was leaning casually against the side of the car, hands stuffed into his suit pants pockets. Said previously interrupted girl's face was slightly stunned as was her stature by this word that had come from Ikuto, who once again, was a man she barely knew. But by the quick connection of his eyes on her own, she received the silent message of his that the shocked Ami would never hear voiced out loud.

_To make this work, we've got to make it real. _

"Y-yes…" Amu agreed, clearing her throat. The utterance of the word was like a foreign food on her tongue. "My, um, fiancé."

Right…that's what they had to do. Amu sent an uneasy glance in his direction, wondering how the hell this little plan would work out with her sister now suddenly involved. She just didn't want to deceive anyone, that's what most concerned her. But she'd have to if she wanted this deal to play out correctly on both ends. Amu licked her lips, still unsure of her hasty decision. She really wasn't expecting it to be put under the test this quick. Ami's jaw hung open in a surprised O and she was shaking her head very faintly, as if she couldn't accept such a thing.

She looked at her sister in astonishment, tears now vanished. "You're kidding, you have to be!"

The silence was a thin drape covering all of them, and Ikuto sent Amu a glance that told her she would have to say otherwise. And soon. Amu looked down to the ground, the spots of random water droplets catching her eye's attention against the asphalt, but not her minds.

"No," Amu answered quietly, trying to convince herself and stop her rapidly beating heart from thundering so hard inside her chest. "I'm not."

Her sister's expression screwed up into a look of pure concentration. "But…you never date anyone. How can you be engaged?" Then she was thoughtful. "I guess there's that Tadase guy you mention sometimes, but you were always too freaked out to talk to him without coming off like you didn't care if he died right in front of you…" Her voice trailed off as she finally seemed to take notice of the man in their presence. Ami began to stare, and hard, at the bored looking Ikuto. She meshed her lips tightly together, brows furrowing as he looked right back at her with the same indifferent expression he's had for the past couple of minutes.

Amu knew what her sister must be thinking.

It was the same thought that kept running full force in her head, winding around and around like a broken record that just refused to stop.

Who is this guy?

At that exact moment, her sister decided to speak again.

"I call front seat."

* * *

Stepping into the house once again after such a day was like slap of reality to Amu's face. Ami threw her book bag to the floor in a heartbeat, missing the wide open closet door by a good foot or two. She kicked off her shiny school shoes carelessly, perhaps forgetting how much Amu had to spend on them to meet the school dress code, and let her books fly free onto a nearby end table without a stray thought. Ami padded around the corner, most likely into the stuffy living room where the TV was awaiting an audience to grace its screen with. Amu continued to stand there in the doorway, the vehicle that had gotten them there already long gone off down the road. She could still remember the blush that came along with Ikuto having a nice view of the dump that was her home, not even hers, but her aunt's. The woman wasn't much of a caretaker, and liked to complain to Ami and Amu almost everyday so they would do all the household chores themselves and she wouldn't have to.

Amu rubbed at her forehead, clenching her eyes tight to will away the sight of dusty pictures, the creaky old stairwell and the slight musky smell tainting the air. The fact that she was in a rich man's car only five minutes earlier must have been some kind of wicked dream that existed to haunt her. An easier life dangled right before her desperate hands just like that…it must be some kind of scam.

"A scam…" she muttered with a snort. "Figures it would be."

Amu picked up Ami's bag and hung it up on one of the rarely used hooks, then shut the door softly, knowing slamming it wouldn't work because it would just pop back open. She'd learned such a thing when Ami had gotten upset over something they couldn't buy, and in turn she had taken her anger out on the closet and received a slab of wood knocking her in the face and breaking her nose. Another medical bill they really hadn't needed at the time. The sound of drizzling rain came from behind her and Amu turned, forgetting that the front door was still open. She reached for it, hand winding around the knob as she had done a number of times before. Her honey eyes stopped to settle on the cracked sidewalk, the one that hadn't been fixed for six years, ever since they'd moved here. A big fat line of jagged rock that Ami had tripped over when she was seven years old and scraped her knee the first day at the new house.

Amu could still remember her aunt hurrying down the steps and giving the crying girl a scowl, and jabbing a finger at Amu as she was trying to comfort her younger sister. "You fix it. I'll take care of your father."

She'd kneeled there, in shock next to her blubbering sister for one minute. One measly sixty seconds of feeling like the world was crashing down on her shoulders, shoving all its troubles in her face and telling her to balance every single thing by herself. Then…Amu placed her hand in Ami's own, cleared her mind and forced her own tears that wanted to pour out far away. She'd found the band aides and disinfectant with much digging and a broken perfume bottle in a tiny bathroom that looked as if it hadn't been cleaned in ages. It was a wonder how she had managed to locate it since her aunt hadn't been too keen on showing them around. But Amu knew the moment when those words were fed into her ears that she'd have to deal with that sort of thing from now on.

_You fix it._

Because that knight in shining armor wasn't coming to sweep her off her feet. The guy in those stories her mother used to read to her about, the ones who were strong, brave, and always knew what to do; they didn't exist. Her fingers trembled on the metallic handle, and Amu had difficulty in shutting the door off from the window to the world of outside. Her mother's kind, soft face burned in her mind so bright, as if she would hear that gentle tone of hers, and those tender fingers brush through her hair one last time before she bid a quiet 'goodnight'. It was hard, so very hard for her to believe that a man, out of nowhere, would come and tell her he would just hand her money like that. For marriage. She could effortlessly forget that she would have to give up her name, but for this Ikuto Tuskiyomi to come and somehow be that beacon in the dark abyss of ocean that was almost her whole life…it was unfathomable. He can't be that stupid, that insane to throw out money to the winds for a girl like her.

It was obvious when they arrived that she and Ami were poor. By the shifty neighborhood, the shutters hanging poorly by their hinges, the whole house being one big grimy mess. He didn't say anything outright rude or stare in disbelief. Actually, it appeared he could care less if they lived in a dumpster on some random city street corner. He reached over, as she was trying to stop her cheeks from turning beet red from embarrassment, and opened the door for her. The scent of him was cigarettes and something she couldn't name, but it had her pulse racing and her face redder in no time. Those lazy dark eyes of his leveled on hers as she didn't make a move to get out of the car. Her sister gave the two a look before getting out and shutting the door unnecessarily loud.

"Sorry." She managed a mumble before gripping the door's handle for support, making a move to leave also. His voice stopped her cold.

"…sleep on it."

Amu didn't answer right away. She sat there for another minute or two, sensing her sister lagging on the sidewalk and giving her uncertain glances. Amu found herself biting her lip, a bad habit she used to have all throughout high school practically before her friend Rima got her to stop out of annoyance, saying it wouldn't help her in an interview for a job at all. The small girl had apologized immediately after, knowing Amu's money situation was tight and she worked all the jobs she could handle and keep as long as possible.

But she made herself stop anyway, believing that it would hurt her future chances.

Ikuto came back over to his side, opened some random compartment and ended up with a slip of blank paper and pen in hand. He swiftly scribbled onto it, not bothering for neatness and passed it over to Amu between two fingers without a word. She hesitantly took it, cocking her head to see that a phone number was written there. Unknown to her, he never did this for anyone, let alone a random girl. Ikuto was finding his actions strange himself but didn't make an effort to voice such aloud, he hardly ever did.

And just like that she had bid a soft 'thank you', for many reasons, not just for the ride; and got out of the car and joined her sister on the sidewalk. Back into her own little reality. Presently, she was leaning against the front door, fumbling with the same exact paper he had given her and thinking a billion facts all at once.

The why's, how's, where's, when's; everything really. There were many reasons she shouldn't go along with this senseless plan, but there are also tons of reasons she needed this plan too. He seemed serious, Amu concluded. After all, he'd let her have his cell phone number and he was a well-known violinist…god, Rima would call her so many kinds of idiot right now. But, there's always that little nagging _if_.

If it works out, if - from some otherworldly chance - Amu went through with this marriage and received enough money to solve most of their problems…it might just be worth it. She could pay for Ami's tuition, uniforms, clothes, bills, food, gas - without a lingering worrisome thought. And…Amu's attention strayed to the staircase leading up into the dark, gloomy hallway and into a particular room she didn't like to visit often.

She could fix that too…

"Amu!"

Said girl jumped out her skin and thoughts altogether. Ami stood there at the entryway to the living room, chewing some gum and staring at her elder sister with slight concern. She didn't ask any questions though, Ami only popped a bubble and said something else entirely. "I've been trying to get your attention for a while now. You know, I want the details about this so called boyfriend of yours…or fiancé, whatever." She held up a bag of popcorn, one that was still steaming from just being taken from the microwave. "I've got snacks…we can get fat together. Unless you have some kind of stick thin dress in mind."

Amu laughed despite the slight sorrow deeply rooted in her gut, an emotion that was steadily winding up and up into her body and making its way to her face. A free show for anyone looking to see how crappy Amu Hinamori was feeling at the moment. "No, I can't." With this answer, Ami's expression fell into that of disappointment. Amu quickly continued, not wanting this chance with her sister so openly offering to talk to slip right on by. "I mean, I've got to check up on dad." Ami immediately reacted to these words, nodding solemnly in response.

The thirteen year old stopped chewing and stared at the hard wooded floor. She sniffed, piling one foot atop the other absently and scrunching up her bare toes. Amu could only wonder where she had thrown the socks at. "You should tell him." Ami said simply. "He's going to flip, but you should."

Amu didn't know why she suddenly felt angry, but she just couldn't help it. Her shoulders straightened and she put up her chin, going on the total defense with her stature. She brought up her arms in a tight armored crisscross. "Why wouldn't I tell our father about this, Ami?"

_He's just a lifeless doll under bed sheets._

_He's only getting worse._

_I want him to die in peace, not pain. But those girls… they'll never let him go, and they refuse to believe he's -_

Amu's head snapped harshly away from her sister's direction, and her eyes focused completely on the stairwell to distract herself. The old dust ridden spider webs came first, then the cracks and breaks in the wood that now seemed so obvious and embarrassing. She tried to rid her mind of the piling fragments of past conversations, beginning to walk towards the rotting flight of steps. Words she had overheard around corners and said behind not-all-the-way closed doors, without the other sides knowing of course.

Ami had flinched in return to her sister's harsh voice, retreating back to the TV without another sound. As Amu made it to the first step, the volume became deafening. She felt a pang of guilt, wanting to immediately apologize. But another side of her refused to go and run to receive Ami's forgiveness. What had been said so easily dug deep the most. Why wouldn't she tell her dad about this? It wasn't as if he was stupid and wouldn't get it! Like he couldn't understand her! Everyone kept acting strangely uncomfortable around him and avoided topics the revolved around her father like they were the plague. Amu stomped her way up the rest of the steps, not caring if her aunt woke up from her needed naps before work, wanting everyone to hear her vented frustration about all her little problems. In no time, she reached the doorway into a world of quiet and suffocating tranquility. Without a brief thought, she opened the door with a jerk, stepping inside and not really ready for the sight.

The smell hit her fist. The antiseptic fog of medication and cleanliness that never mixed all that well, hospitals being a prime example. Amu's hard grip fell slack as her eyes caught the small and fragile form asleep on a bed that now seemed much too big. The room was a frail blue, barely detectable underneath the coating of dust. Amu walked quietly, carefully to the bedside. She glanced over the collection of bottles and stray caps riddled on top of the end table with a lone lamp. Many were orange, some bright yellow. Giving the appearance of danger, don't touch. Amu tapped an unopened one without conscious state of mind. She looked over her father, appearing so thin, so unlike himself; tracing that one white cap with her finger.

She closed her eyes, listening to her father's haggard breathing.

Even in his sleep…he suffers.

Amu didn't come down to join her sister even after five minutes. Instead, she began to cry, silently; lips quaking and hands trembling. She didn't sob loudly as she wanted to, she didn't give in to breaking down to the floor in a pathetic ball. Amu was determined to stay strong. She had to do something about this.

She _was_ going to do something about this. "Don't worry dad…" she choked out, her quieted voice strained with tears. "I'll fix this. I promise."

* * *

**BLEEHHHH. Suck-fest. I tried to make it as realistic as possible. But this story is kind of hard to believe I guess, it's a challenge to make it work. The thing in the beginning in chapter one is connected to her father :o I don't quite know exactly what I'm going to do with this story…Tadase shows up in the next chapter. Rima and Nagihiko in chapter three too…Yaya will make another appearance, Utau and Kukai, yeah, everyone's popping in. I'm trying to make this story semi entertaining. I feel as if it's boring as crap! I didn't outright explain everything, I'm planning on it gradually, didn't one to pump you guys silly with it it XD I hope it's obvious enough to see why Amu needs the money. She's not fully sold on it, but she's not too eager to let the offer disappear. Their money situation isn't too good right now and she's kind of on the desperate side. **

**I feel like that car thing is too similar to what happened in Camp SOS with Amu and Ikuto! But I couldn't think of anything else really to make it play out correctly. SIGH! I hope that doesn't bother anyone if you've read that story. I squeezed most of this chapter out, my writing bar is almost completely empty from finishing up three 7,000 worded chapters. God, I'm so out of ideas right now! **

**See ya next time! **


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